


Sekai

by Leevila



Category: Furi (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Game Spoilers, Muteness, Romance, Slow Burn, The Wanderer can be a reader insert, she's kept vague
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leevila/pseuds/Leevila
Summary: She wandered, never content to just stay in one place. But where the very Earth was scorched and burned, she couldn't help but return to.





	1. Wander

The people from her hometown knew she could never be satisfied with staying there. They knew that she craved more, wanted to see the world. Her idle drawings in the sand revealed vast landscapes, mountains and waterfalls that she would picture in her head. The townsfolk never insulted her desires, knowing that there wasn't much they could offer to satiate her. So whenever the young girl would wax poetic about the world outside the small village, everyone would gather and listen to her wild tales of vast rivers and plants that glowed when touched. The creativity of each story blossomed as she was encouraged to think of new ideas and expand upon them.

As she aged, the suspicion that she would one day leave them for her love of traveling grew. More often they would catch her staring off past the town's limits, wind ruffling her hair and a wistful look on her face. So it was no surprise when they found her preparing her bag for a long journey. The entire town gifted her something to help on the trek through the world. Food, blankets, even a small portable tent (that the weaver specialized in) made their way into her supplies. Her family supported her with a call of her name and grand waves as she walked off into the verdant fields beyond their small village.

That was years ago, when she was but a child approaching her sixteenth year. Now after five summers and five winters of scraping by, living off the land, she could be considered an expert on pretty much anything in the wilderness. Where to find game to hunt, what plants were medicinal and which ones were poisonous; anything and everything had been catalogued in either her journal or burned into her brain.

She had seen mountains that stretched so far into the heavens that you could no longer see the peaks, lakes that seemed as if they were oceans, beaches with pure white sand so soft that it felt as if you were laying on clouds, water so clear that you could see the bottom no matter how far away you were from shore. She had seen so much, yet nothing could satisfy her. Nothing in her world could ever seem to satiate that never-ending want for more.

The people in the cities knew her only as 'The Wanderer'. She would come and stay for a few days, offering her services to those who needed it. Maybe replenish a few supplies that couldn't be gathered. Then she would be gone again, to not return until the next month or two. They would call her odd, not in disdain but in genuine wonder. Who would ever choose the danger of the outdoors over the safety of cities? Plenty of people opened their homes to her in attempt to get her to stay and share her knowledge.

They wanted her. The little wild thing that always came in with that same ratty gray cloak. They all wanted her to stay where she would be safe.

But she never did stay. It was in her nature to leave.

She wandered.


	2. Impact

She was in a city when it happened.

The small market interested her, so she stayed for a while longer than usual to pick up writing supplies and paper in exchange for invaluable knowledge and medicinal herbs. Her traveling bag was left forgotten in the house she was staying, under the watchful eyes of the elder of the home. So as she wandered the colorful stalls she was able to imagine for a moment that she belonged there. That she lived there in the city with the rest of them. It was an entertaining thought.

"Wanderer! Why don't you come over here and take a look at my newest creation? I'm sure you'd love something like this to light your way at night!" A man at his stand said, waving her over and pointing at some sort of advanced lantern that emitted a soft steady stream of light. "It even works underwater!" She only smiled and walked over, running a finger across the metal rim.

"I appreciate the offer, but I have no need for such a thing. The moon and stars are what guide me." She raised a hand above her head for emphasis. "It is a handsome piece, though. Perhaps someone else will look to buy it." She said, walking off while waving to those who saw. They were all so kind to her, no matter her differences in state of living. But it was time to go.

The walk back home through the city was quick, the buildings geometrically placed in perfect intervals. The Wanderer knocked three times on the door to where she was staying before pulling it open and letting herself in. "Helena, good to see you! I think I'll be heading back out soon, thank you for letting me stay here." She cooed to the woman in the rocking chair, who stared for a moment before breaking out into a big, toothless grin.

"Dearie, you're welcome here any time! If anything, I think you should stay here! You know how dangerous it is out there in the wild!" She said, speech slightly slurred with her age.

"I've been alright for this long," The Wanderer heaved her pack up onto her shoulder and made her way back to the door. "Remember to drink that tea twice a day, it'll help with those joints of yours." A small smile and wave before the door shut behind hee. Helena knew that the girl would never stay, but that didn't stop her from trying.

The city folk watched as she stalked the streets, hood over her eyes to shield them from the bright sun. They knew it was about time for her to leave anyways, to go off into the world and not return for a long while. So they let her, as there was no stopping a force of nature like her. She pulled the hood up tighter, wrapping the cloak around herself. The heavy gray fabric prevented any kind of upwards view, so she ended up missing the first sign of it.

The dot on the sun.

It had been there for a while, the first appearance causing panic amongst the commonfolk. But as time passed and nothing seemed to change, they just accepted this strange phenomenon as natural. Even The Wanderer grew used to the sight. That strange little spot on the lower left of the great fireball. No one noticed as it slowly grew in size; the change was so little. Not until it blotted out a quarter of the sun did people begin to notice again. Questions shot back and forth between them once more as panic began to rise.

Yet still, nothing happened.

Until now.

Her eyes were to the ground, so she didn't notice it at first. But there was that whistle though the wind, that change in the air. It was something so faint that you could only notice if you were in tune with the natural world order. So she flipped the hood back behind her head and gazed upwards to the heavens. The other people began to notice something was off as well and began watching the skies. Time seemed to stop momentarily as everyone in the vicinity looked up. 

Something was winking in the vast blue sky. A little light, shining brightly and leaving a trail of cosmic dust behind it. At first people thought it was a comet, coming to grace them with luck and a bountiful year. But as the comet grew in size only then did they realize that it wasn't what they thought.

The bright white spark morphed into something larger, reddish orange like a great ball of fire. The trail behind it turned black with smoke as it entered the atmosphere. People began whispering, then shouting as it drew closer. The Wanderer saw. She saw it hurtling right to them and immediately bolted, running in the direction of the city gates.

As soon as she ran pandemonium broke out. People began tripping over each other in attempts to follow or escape some other way. They knew if she did something, to follow. That much was common knowledge amongst them. And good that they did, as the object was heading right towards the city. She looked back behind her to see a steady trail of civilians after her, scrambling and dashing with all they had to keep up.

A sound like a gunshot rang out as the meteorite crashed through the very air around it. The trail of smoke didn't disappear behind it, instead hanging in the sky like a sickly scar. It grew closer and closer as they fled the city into the fields beyond. But no distance was far enough from it, so they kept running. Crackles like electricity surrounded the thing as it fell, close enough to the city now to almost touch.

Then the impact.

It shook the ground with a solid boom, knocking everyone off of their feet and sending them tumbling into one another. The Wanderer flipped onto her back and began crawling backwards in an attempt to get as far away as possible. But what she saw froze her to the core.

The city exploded in a rain of fire and rocks. The meteorite had crashed into the center of the square, sending up waves of dust and ash with it. The sky was a painting of yellows and oranges, mixing with red at the center of the blast. The outer walls of the city still stood, charred black and crumbling in some areas. But they held. The people around her stared in shock at the destruction before slowly standing and trying to help one another up to keep fleeing.

She didn't know what happened then. What caused the ruining of an entire way of life.

All she knew was to keep as far away from it as possible.


	3. Time

One year had passed since that day. The day the sky shattered. The Wanderer left the city and never looked back, knowing that nothing could be saved from it. It was best to move on, to keep going and not dwell on what couldn't be changed. A few civilians decided to make the journey back, in order to salvage what they could.

But she knew better.

So she went back to the comfort of the wilderness. And there she stayed for that year, not returning to a city since. She didn't want to deal with the people's reactions to the loss of such an important part of their society. But she suffered for it. The inability to replenish certain supplies like paper and clothing left her in threadbare rags. She would have to return soon. There was no way she could stay completely cut off from them forever. So she began moving back towards signs of civilization. But a roundabout path was taken, one that led her through many more landscapes than should've been necessary.

What she once thought was aimless wandering inevitably led her back to the site of the impact. She couldn't stay away forever without coming back to see what had befallen in the aftermath. The burnt smell still hasn't dissipated. But as she approached, she noticed something that hadn't been there before. Trails of dead plants led in winding circles out from the area, sometimes looping back on themselves and twisting around. A wandering path.

But even more noticeable was what had happened outside of the city.

The entire area had been quarantined. New walls had been erected around it, glowing faintly blue with the force of science to keep everything contained. There were a few encampments outside of the ruins that she approached warily. People milled about within, but these people weren't townsfolk looking to rebuild. No, these were militant scientists and architects looking to see what went wrong. Trying to find the source of the blackened soil.

One saw her as she drew closer; he broke from his group and marched over to where she stopped. He held up a hand in a warning to keep her distance.

"Miss, I'm afraid this area is under inspection by the ETIA. You'll have to leave," he said and she glanced down to see the other hand at the gun on his hip. "It's not safe being this close to the impact site."

"I was there when it happened. What's going on here? What's made the very land reject the sun's warmth?" She asked, stepping back in order to not seem hostile. "I will not stay, just answer me this."

"That's classified information, miss. Just know that the threat is under control and will not come back. This area is the only place affected." He was being truthful; she could tell by the way he stood. But he hadn't answered her. There was something that had happened here that they didn't want her, or anyone for that matter, to know. "Now you must leave. It's for your own safety." She nodded and turned on her heels, moving back away and into the comfort of the forest beyond. It wouldn't be worth disturbing them further and being perceived as a threat.

But she wouldn't leave just yet, not without knowing more. The forest provided ample cover in order to watch and observe them; she attempted to find out the _reason_ why they stayed. A week passed and she watched them mill about the area, grabbing samples and examining the dead earth. There was a period of time where a man dressed in a purple cloak came by to study the area of impact. He stayed for longer than she thought, before a woman came after him and they left together. Even more time had passed and she grew bored of staying for so long in one area. So she moved on, eager to be rid of the stench and horrid view of the destroyed city. On her journeys to other places of civilization, she heard rumors of what happened that day.

"I heard there was a man."

"Don't be stupid! Some alien landed here and began killing people."

"Not an alien. I'm sure it was a cyborg."

The rumors got more and more implausible with every mile she traveled away from the cursed land. Some people said four-legged beasts rose from the rubble with rotted flesh and acidic saliva. Others denied such claims and assured that the meteor just housed radioactive elements in it, which caused the explosion. There were even a few people who claimed that a man stepped out of the rubble completely unharmed before cutting down all who stood in his path.

All were ridiculous to the Wanderer. The only one that seemed go make the most sense was the radioactive status of the meteorite. That was the only thing that could have scarred the land so deeply. No human or alien could ever achieve such destruction. It just wasn't possible, not to her.

But time moved on, and the people forgot. The incident became a faint memory in the minds of the population. They lost interest in the crazed ramblings of one another and instead chose to focus on matters at hand. Things like the harvest and the gathering of things necessary for survival dominated their thoughts. It wasn't much longer after that when it was built.

The station.

It hovered over the world like the moon, only much closer. Every major city was absolutely buzzing with excitement when they found out about it. They were told it was a place of protecting, an area where the Guardians of the Planet would reside. So they could finally be safe. People were chosen to populate it, who could become soldiers in a time of dire need. Only the best of the best were allowed to be chosen.

Each level of the prison stretched just a little bit farther away from the planet, until you could barely see the last platform. It was two circles with a little path connecting them together, housing the first line of defense. But on a cloudy day you couldn't even see the final layer closest to the planet, much less the one that very nearly winked out of sight on a bright morning. No matter where she wandered, that place hovered over her like a watchful parent.

It unsettled her.


	4. Burnt

It was another four years until the next incident. The Wanderer was laying in a field of wildflowers, looking up into the bright starry sky when she saw it. The faint purple aura that hopped from each level of the station before dissipating. Something had happened.

She sat up and let her weight rest on her arms behind her, staring up with squinted eyes before growling under her breath and reaching over to her pack. She dug around in it for a few moments before pulling out a small looking glass, holding it up to her eye and tweaking the settings on the knob on the outer rim to focus it. It seemed to be more often than not that she would gaze up at the station, trying to make sense of it. _Why are the layers like that? And what's happening right now?_ But no matter how long she looked, she couldn't find a reason.

Nothing changed once the faint purple light dissolved into thin air. The station sat there, still as ever. The Wanderer chewed on the inside of her mouth in disappointment. She was just _waiting_ for her fears to be proved correct, that something was wrong with that place. But it looked as if it was still as unmoving and watchful as ever. An exasperated breath escaped her lips as she set up camp that night, assembling the small tent and crawling inside to relax.

It took longer that night than any other night before to ease herself to sleep.

~*~

It was a fitful rest, at best. The thought of what could be happening up there hovered over her like a noxious cloud. So when she awoke it was with dark circles under her eyes and a crack in her hoarse voice. She dragged herself out of the tent and began preparations for breakfast, noting how high the sun already was in the sky. _I must have slept longer than I thought..._ Was what crossed her mind as she pulled out a few pieces of hardtack and slathered a generous amount of wildberry jam on top. The Wanderer chewed away and kept her eyes to the clouds, trying to gauge the weather so she could plan accordingly. 

Finishing her breakfast, she packed everything up and began the trek to the next town over. It wasn't very far, only a few leagues away at the current time. So she decided to take in the scenery as she watched the landscapes flow by. She traveled by the river, following its winding trail and using it as a guide to the next settlement. The path was calm and serene; the birds were chirping and flitting from tree to tree. It took a while before she could see the faint smudge on the horizon that showed evidence of the next town over. The grass around her danced in the wind and tickled her ankles. Her shoes did little to shield her from the ground below, leading to light calluses on the soles of her feet. She tended to take the shoes off most of the time anyways.

As she drew closer, the world around her began to darken infinitesimally. The change was so slight she almost didn't notice until a bright light nearly blinded her when she chanced a glance at the sky. It most definitely wasn't the sun, for the sun was behind her. No, this was something being destroyed out in the vast expanse of space. It was a grand explosion, so large that she could almost hear it from where she stood. The Wanderer attempted to shield her eyes as a smaller light burst off of the first, disappearing soon after it left the larger body. She was frozen in place and could only watch as it shot through the air. _What in the world was that?_

The people in the town had seen it as well. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the center square she was swarmed with people, all of them asking if she had seen.

"What do you think it was?"

"What if it's like what happened to Qinhar? D'you think another one of those is gonna get us too?"

"Wanderer, did you see it? A star exploded!"

"Calm down, be still." The Wanderer held her hands in front of her, gently pushing the people away. "Clearly whatever it was, it's not going to land anywhere near here. Did you see the trajectory of its path?" She asked, pointing to the general area where the explosion happened and following an invisible line with her finger until she hit the horizon. "If it did land anywhere, it would be there. Nowhere near here. There is no need to worry." The sigh of relief that swept through the marketplace was palpable. Slowly each person went back to their respective duties, calmed by her words of reassurance.

The Wanderer began bartering with the folks, trading various goods and services for some new clothes and fabrics. She was sorely in need of something to wrap up in after that trek through the giant brambles a month back. Her tunic was near ruined and the ratty gray cloak needed repairs. Sadly, they didn't have any of the other things she needed, like paper or parchment. All that they had was needed by their own scribes. She waved off their apologies and said that it was understandable, "Do not worry. I can restock once I get to Brille. They always have more than enough, what with their grand library and all."

She sat near the well and began mending her clothes, eager for a short rest in an actual town instead of the usual dense forests. A few people stopped by and asked how she was doing, offering a hot meal in exchange for a tale of some far-off land that she had seen. Eventually, the sun dipped down below the earth and a large fire was erected in the center of town. The people gathered around it in a large semicircle as the Wanderer began her story. "Have any of you heard of the Lone Singer?" She asked, knowing full well that none of them didn't. But it was part of the story's set up. Everyone shook their head, and she paced in front of them.

"The Lone Singer was a traveler, like myself." She began, placing a hand to her chest. "He went from place to place, sharing his song with any who would listen. His journeys took him across vast deserts with sand every color of the rainbow. People say that when the southerly wind blew across the ground below, the sand would fly into the air in explosions of color. But the sand wasn't only beautiful, it was also very dangerous." She paused and spared a glance to the people watching her with rapt attention. "It was said that if you didn't have cover during the storms of the Ajarc Desert, then the sand would strip you down until you were part of it." The children who were old enough to stay up this late gasped and covered their eyes as the Wanderer dragged her fingers across her face, miming the tearing of skin caused by the winds.

"But that never mattered to him, for the Lone Singer knew the land around him. He knew everything there was, yet nothing could quench his thirst for the journey." Her eyes darted around at them all. "'What journey?' You may ask. Why, the greatest one of all! The journey of life." She began gesturing wildly with her hands. "No matter what he did, he always wanted to experience more. No matter what he sang, he knew he could get better. No matter what came, he persevered. The Lone Singer loved the thrill of exploring, loved to encounter the vastly different cultures of the people he encountered.

"And they all loved him in turn. A great many men and women attempted to woo him," she joked, a small smirk crossing her lips. "But while he had love in his heart, he gave it to no one but his song." She continued with her tale, explaining the Lone Singer and his many different journeys that spanned entire continents, more than she could ever claim to have done. He was considered a legend, a myth.

The children began nodding off as the fire dimmed. Her story mellowed out and she sat down with her legs crossed. People began leaving with soft good nights, and she gave them a smile in return as she continued on for those who still sleepily listened. She talked about the places the Lone Singer traveled, forests with trees that were as wide as a house, fields with flowers that towered over you, and even the frozen tundra where the snow lay untouched by human feet. Eventually even the Wanderer began yawning, and so the night ended with her helping the rest of the villagers back to their homes.

"Must have been a long time since you last slept in a warm bed, Wanderer." A farmer said, crossing her arms as they walked to her house.

"Indeed it has." She replied.

"If you'd like, you can stay the night here for as long as you need. Us people need to take care of one another, you hear?" The woman opened the door to her home and put a finger to her lips, whispering, "Both my husband and the kids are asleep. Stay quiet when you come in. They know of you and would be honored for you to stay here with us, no need to be worried about that." The Wanderer murmured a thank you as the farmer led her to a small room off the side of the house and showed her all she needed to prepare for bed. "Have a good rest. It's not silk, but a damn sight more comfortable than whatever you sleep on out there in the wild, I'm sure." 

"I appreciate the offer, Miss." She thanked the woman and decided to not mention the inadvertent insult to her lifestyle. The woman went to return to her husband and left the Wanderer alone. She climbed into the bed and hugged the flat pillow close to her. _It has been so long since I've had a real bed like this._ She thought to herself, feeling at the thin sheets below her. There was a window next to her head, close enough to touch the sill. 

She fell asleep gazing up at the stars beyond, catching sight of some sort of structure in the distance. It was broken into five pieces, each one slowly drifting further away from the other.


	5. Danger

The soft pitter-patter of feet were what awoke the Wanderer. Two pairs of footsteps were rushing down the hall in the early morning hours. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, noting that it was still dim outside through the window. Yawning, she disentangled herself from the blanket she had wrapped herself in during sleep and stood. Her back popped as she raised her arms overhead in a stretch. The bed was made within a few minutes, as she wasn't one to take advantage of someone's hospitality. The bag on the ground that contained her livelihood lay there, unmoving.

She dressed herself and grabbed one of the straps that hung off of her pack, slinging it over her shoulder and exiting the small room. It was then that she found the source of what woke her up. Two little boys were running up and down the house, with their mother sleepily exiting her own room and making her way to the humble kitchen. She caught eyes with the Wanderer and motioned for her to follow.

"Wanderer. I'm assuming you'll be leaving soon." A silent nod. "Well, come on then. Breakfast isn't gonna eat itself, I've two boys to feed as well so you better hurry before they catch wind that you're here. They'll talk your ear off," she said as the Wanderer followed her and sat down at the wooden table. It was a great old thing, probably crafted generations ago. The wood-grain swirled and clumped together into the odd dense knot, and she followed the trails with her finger as the farmer began preparing for breakfast. The creaking of a door broke her from her reverie, and she glanced up to see the farmer's husband entering from the archway into the room.

"What are you doing up so early, darling?" She asked, a small smile crossing her lips as he sleepily walked over. "You're not usually out of bed until sunrise." He was silent, only coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. A laugh bubbled up in the woman's throat as she continued, the Wanderer deciding that the table was _very much_ interesting in that moment.

Eventually the husband noticed she was there, and immediately focused his attention on her.

"Now who is this? And why is she sitting in my spot at the table?" He asked, but with no actual hostility. The Wanderer stood so quickly she was dizzy for a second, and he chuckled. "No need to worry, girl. I know who you are. My boys were listening to your story last night like their lives depended on it. It's not often that we see you here, Wanderer."

"Well I'm glad they enjoyed it," she said before said children came rushing into the room, tumbling over one another to make it to their own seats. It took a total of five seconds for them to realize that she was standing there, and another two to pounce on her.

"You're here I can't believe it!!"

"Tell me another story about the Singer!!"

They began shouting at her excitedly, flitting around and pulling at her clothes. She laughed and ruffled their hair, noting how the only difference between the two boys was how one had a smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. She entertained them until breakfast was ready, simple porridge and bread.

As they ate, the children constantly pestered the young woman, asking questions about life outside the village. She answered them with a smile on her face, recognizing the same lust for adventure in their voice that she once had when she was little. The parents seemed indifferent to the direction of the conversation, preferring to eat in silence while the children were distracted.

The first meal of the day passed relatively fast with the conversation, and it was soon time for her to depart. The brothers were sorely disappointed, begging her to stay just a bit longer. She bid them farewell with a grin and a promise to return sometime soon, gifting the family with a jar of her best preserves made from a variety of sweet berries. Their hospitality was greatly appreciated, and she wanted to make sure they were aware of that fact.

The pack was weighed down with the restocked supplies, but the weight was comforting as she knew she had all she needed to make it to Brille. There were farmers who were taking advantage of the early morning; they plowed the fields and tidied up their houses as she walked by. Pleasantries were exchanged between the Wanderer and those who chose to spend their lives in one place. While their styles of life differed, no hostility was shared. They would benefit from each other and then go back to their respective duties before crossing paths once more.

"Hey, Wanderer!" A man yelled, leaning on the rake he held. "You going to Brille?" She replied with a loud yes, as he was farther away than what could be heard with a normal spoken voice. "Check up on my sister, will ya? Make sure that star didn't fall right on the city!" That made her realize that the path she was traveling in was the same way the shooting light fell.

"Very well, Ricard!" She shouted back, cupping a hand around her mouth to make sure he heard. His sister, Elise, had left the small town to pursue a life in the city. From what the Wanderer remembered, she was doing pretty well there. But she'd check up, just in case. She was also interested in the star. She wanted to see if it had made it down to the planet below.

~*~

It took about a week on her journey to Brille for her to reach the halfway point between the city and small town. The light of day was still strong, as it was early afternoon. The region had grown more mountainous, so she had to tread lightly over the rocks else she could fall. But when she took a step forward, the ground below her crumbled and she lost her footing, tumbling down into the valley below. A shriek of pain escaped her throat as she landed heavy on her left arm, trying to catch herself with her hand but only succeeding in fire arcing up her wrist.

She lay there on her back for a moment, arm slung across her torso as she attempted to catch her breath. But she couldn't stay there forever, couldn't just lie down and hope everything would get better. _Alright, just like last time, remember?_ She pulled herself up off of the ground and threw her pack down in front of her, cradling her injured wrist to her chest. She dug around in it, searching for her jar of felonwort. It was a plant whose leaves would secrete a chilled substance when applied to human skin. She found the jar that contained then and struggled to open it with one working hand, but eventually succeeded and pulled out two of the wide teardrop leaves.

A few pebbles fell down from the cliff above, catching her immediate attention. She looked up from her task and attempted to discern the source of the movement. Nothing was there. A scoff left her lips and she returned to treating her wrist. It was hot and aching to the touch, so she laid the two leaves across her skin and sighed at the sudden cooling relief. With that need satisfied, she returned to her bag and searched for her muslin bandages. She grinned when she found them, unwinding them and wrapping the fabric tightly around her wrist with one hand. It was a challenging task, having to hold one end of the bandage between her teeth as she grappled with trying to make it tight enough.

There was the shuffle of movement. Her head shot up and she was able to catch the barest glimpse of something white before it disappeared. Something was watching her. _Maybe a Bemora lion. Gods, I hope not. I'm in no state to outrun one of those._ She could only pray for the best as she continued wrapping her wrist, the compression finally relieving some of the tension in her arm. With her wrist safely secured, she took one of her shoes off to inspect the sole. Maybe it was wearing thin enough to cause the slip.

What she saw on the bottom of her shoe nearly stopped her heart. It was charred and blackened, and she brought a hesitant finger to it only to scrape away the soot. Her shoe was unharmed, but something had happened up there. She shoved it back onto her foot and began climbing back up to where she had first fallen. The path continued up there so she needed to return to it.

When she got back up to the area, the Wanderer began looking around for the exact area she had fallen. She hasn't noticed it at first, but now that she was looking she saw what had happened to the stones up here. They were all differing in appearance from the others, cracks in their surface and black with decay. _Decay? Stone cannot decay._ Yet here it was, the rock crumbling and struggling to even hold its own weight, much less her own. She knelt down and poked at some of the stone with a nearby stick, noting how while the rock itself was nearly destroyed, the stick was largely unaffected from coming into contact with it. 

There was no sign of whatever had been watching her. She returned to the cliff where she had seen the white shape and looked down to where she had landed. It was a perfect view of where she had laid. She pursed her lips and stepped back from the cliff side, chancing a glance downwards before having to look again.

There were footprints in the rocks below her. _Human_ footprints. They were a ways away from the dropoff, but slowly drifted closer to the edge before nearly hanging off of the side. She took another look at those further away and saw them dig deep into the ground below before they completely disappeared. _Not what._ Who _was watching me?_ She wondered, attempting to gauge where they led off to. By the direction of the gouge marks, she determined that they went to the right of where she was standing. So she began slowly walking that way, eager to meet a fellow traveler. It had been years since she last saw one, as most people chose to remain in the cities they were born in.

The decay vanished for a moment, but once she found the footprints, it started up again. Ideas rushed through her head as she continued, trying to figure out _what in the world was happening_. Slowly, the blackened mess of stone became even more frequent and severe, rocks crumbling away at her gentle touch. _Something's not right._ She thought to herself as she continued onward, following the path of what almost seemed like corruption. The sky began to darken as the afternoon gave way to evening.

There was a clearing ahead of her. She approached warily and saw the large crater in the ground. _The star landed here?_ A bright flash of red caught her attention, and she moved closer to it. It wasn't in the crater, rather off to the side and almost hidden in some bushes that were struggling to keep alive. As she came upon it, she realized that it was some sort of metal contraption. She brushed aside the yellowed leaves and brought up a hand to touch the cool surface when the _shick_ of buzzing metal rang out.

Her head shot around just as she was knocked to the ground by a strong force. She fell on her backside, holding her uninjured arm up in front of her to protect herself from whatever accosted her. She could smell smoke, and she looked down to see a hand-print on the chest of her shirt. It was ravaging the fabric, almost burning it away. The Wanderer heard static and looked up to see a blade pointed at her throat. It crackled and burned with electricity, nearly singeing the flesh of her neck.

Cold eyes gazed down at her on the ground, framed by unruly locks of white hair. A man stood before her, keeping the sword as close as he could without actually touching her. The lower half of his face was covered by the collar of a long red coat that was only fastened at the neck; the sleeves were empty and trailing behind him. For a moment she thought he glowed bright blue, but she realized that it was part of his skintight armor that covered his upper body and lower legs. The glow came from the segmentation of the dark gray pieces. A gun was strapped to his left hip, as well as the sheath to the sword held at her throat. He was dangerous, deadly.

"Wait!" She begged, fear coloring her words. "I don't mean you harm! I was just passing by, and the area here interested me. I can leave, please don't kill me." Her voice cracked at the word 'kill' as she shook like a newborn deer. Fear lanced through her body as the man furrowed his brow at her, quickening her breath and tensing her muscles. The pain in her arm diminished to a dull throbbing and she ducked her head down in an attempt to curl inwards on herself.

The sparks around her vanished as he sheathed the sword. She opened her eyes and looked up to see him with his hand clenched around the hilt of the blade, an unreadable look on his face. A sudden jerk of the head, off to the side back to where she came. The Wanderer scrambled away from him on her hands and knees, stumbling to her feet and turning around one last time to catch a glance at the man before running.

He stood there, gripping his sword and watching her with those cold eyes. They shone with a luminescence that was anything but human.


End file.
